Video sharing is a service that allows users engaged in a voice call to add a unidirectional video streaming session to their connection. Typically, any party to the voice call can initiate a video streaming session. Multiple video streaming sessions can be initiated during a voice call. The shared video can be a live video captured by a camera, e.g., on-board video camera at the device, or a video clip saved on the device.
Typically, video share is initiated from within a voice call. During an established voice call, a party can start a video sharing session. The sending user then streams unidirectional live or recorded video. Both the transmitting party and the receiving party can typically see what is being streamed on their respective devices. Some video sharing services allow a transmitting party to “narrate” over the voice call audio connection while both parties view the video. Usually, either user can terminate a video session at any time.
Video share is often referred to as a combinational service, i.e., a service that combines a voice call, e.g., over a circuit switched network, with a packet switch multimedia session, e.g., over a packet data network. The video sharing service can occur over a 3GPP compliant IMS network as well as over UMTS and EDGE networks. It is generally not supported in a GPRS or a CDMA network. The video sharing client will often drop a video sharing session when the handset transitions from UMTS to GSM during the session, though the voice call over the circuit switched network will often remain connected.